Are you settling for mediocrity?

Mediocrity is the state of accepting and living life according to average standards.

I understand why settling is tempting. I've been there. It's the safer option. Unfortunately, nothing grows in a comfort zone.

You can be, do and have whatever it is that you want in life. However, you have to be willing to do what most will not.

If you want to know how you can stop playing small and start living bigger, read this!

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Are you ready to break free from the mediocre majority? 

Unfortunately, the majority of people lower their standards and settle for less. They don't know how to take charge of their life. Instead, they try to escape their reality by numbing their emotions through drugs, food, or alcohol. Their goal is to avoid how they truly feel.

They work, day in and day out, at a job that they hate and live paycheck to paycheck. Although they are unhappy and desire to make a change, the unknown terrifies them. So much so that they decide to remain complacent.

The problem is that we live in a society that encourages us to conform to social norms. A study published in Nature Human Behaviour shows that people tend to copy other people’s choices, even when they know that those people did not make their choices freely, and when the decision does not reflect their preferences.

If you do whatever everyone else does, you'll get what everyone else gets – not much! Fitting in should never be the goal. Rather, you should strive to stand out. This is the moment at which you take control of your life.

Get real with yourself… are you stuck in a mediocrity trap?

Are you living life on other people's terms or your terms? I don't know about you but living a life of mediocrity is the one thing that terrifies me the most. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest.

If you're not satisfied with your life right now, here's the great news… YOU have the power to change your story. At this moment, you can commit to living bigger. Doing so will require that you raise their standards so that you can design a life that you desire and deserve.

Before you can live bigger, you need to understand what your current mental model is. People live in 3 different time zones, so to speak – the past, the present, or the future.

Living in the past is the WORST place to focus your attention because the past is said and done. You no longer have control over it.

You cannot create a compelling future or make any progress in life if you take this route. A lot of people ruminate on the pain of what happened to them in the past. They adopt a victim mentality because they don't think that they have the power to change their circumstances. I used to be this person.

When I was 17 years old, I was insecure and depressed. I hated myself and my life, and I didn't believe that I could change. Once I dove into the world of self-development, I decided to no longer accept self-defeat. I realized that my past didn't have to equal my future. That “aha” moment was a game-changer.

Some people choose to live in the present moment.

The present moment is all that we have, so we have to make the best of it!

However, there are consequences to adopting this belief. If you live in the here and now and focus on instant gratification at the expense of your future, you will get yourself into trouble.

If you're not planning for your retirement NOW and investing in your future, you will pay the price down the road. Yes, it's hard to save your money and make sacrifices. However, what's even harder is when you're 65 years old and you can barely survive financially. That's painful.

Only you can choose your version of hard. The same thing goes for your health. Today, you can flood your body with whatever you want – junk food, alcohol, drugs. However, down the road, you will pay the price.

Are the pleasures that you are indulging in right now going to backfire on you in your future? Is this way of living sustainable, long-term?

You don't want your physical vitality to be comprised. Living with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, or cancer is no way to live. At a certain point in your life, if you do get sick, no amount of money will save you.

Some of the wealthiest people in the world would give all of their money away if it meant that they could live longer. What dictates the quality of your health long-term is how you decide to live in the present moment.

Some people live in the future.

They strategize and anticipate what could go wrong. Usually, this means sacrificing their present moment experiences to set themselves up for success down the road.

At the same time, if you're only living for the future and you become overly obsessed with the destination, you will miss out on the journey.

So the question is… What is the BEST way to live?

Well, I think you can have a balance of all three. The best thing that you can do is learn from your past, enjoy the beauty of the present moment, and plan for your future. The key to accomplishing this feat is by raising your standards.

Don't accept mediocrity. Hear me out… you can settle for good. However, we live in a competitive world. Good isn't good enough, especially if you're an entrepreneur. If you want to be successful in business, you have to over-deliver and do what others will not.

The same thing goes for a 9-5 job. You won't climb the corporate ladder if you don't go above and beyond in your role. Somebody else will come along and do a better job because they will be more hungry to stand out and achieve more.

The same thing goes for a relationship. If you don't show up for your partner's needs and do the work, he/she will not feel seen and may look elsewhere for attention.

If your version of good is not yielding the results that you desire, you have to commit to doing better. Practice doing hard things consistently.

This is how you develop unshakeable grit and become the master of your world. 

It all comes down to one decision – how you are going to play the game of life? Will you choose to be a spectator, sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else succeed, or will you be the superstar of your life?

Yes, choosing the latter can be scary and uncomfortable. However, it's better to dare greatly than never try. If you're reading this, you're not a dabbler. You're showing up for yourself and consuming knowledge because you want to learn and grow. Am I right?

If you're feeling stuck right now, that's OK. It's not comfortable to reflect upon where you're falling short. However, it's also a prerequisite for growth. If you don't get real with yourself and admit what is not working in your life, you won't know what you need to change.

Use your pain as motivation. Which pain is worse? The pain of discipline or the pain of regret? Only you can answer this question.

I don't know about you, but I would rather endure the pain of discipline so that I can write on my tombstone one day, “I lived with no f*ucking regrets.” 

Are you settling in your life? 

If so, now is the time to do something about it. Stop settling for less than you deserve. Your spirit is unlimited and you are capable of so much more than you could ever imagine.

It's time for you to get out of your way, stop sabotaging yourself, and start unleashing your power. Everything that you need is inside of you. It's up to you to decide if you are ready to embark on your hero's journey.

With transformation comes adversity. If you want to actualize your potential, you must courageously stay the course. It's not what you achieve, but who you become along your journey that matters most.

In the words of the famous author Joseph Campbell, “If you travel far enough, you’ll eventually meet yourself.”

What is ONE thing that you will commit to doing today that will help you raise your standards? Change starts with a single step. Take a deep breath and start walking.

Are you ready to stop settling and start building your dream life? CLICK HERE to join my monthly LIVE Life Mastery Accelerator program!

Imagine how your life would be if you fully committed to mastery.

Activate all of your senses and visualize your dream lifestyle. Who are you with? Where do you live? How do you feel?

A lot of people assume that self-mastery is unattainable. This is far from true.

The path of self-mastery is an internal and self-directed journey that takes practice. That being said, I have tools that can help you take the first step.

Are you ready to discover how you can get out of your own way and become the master of your world?

Watch the video below:

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What does mastery mean to you?

The first step to changing anything in your life is self-awareness. Think about it… if you aren't aware of what something means, it will be near impossible for you to embody it. I want to share with you the success principles that I live by every single day. These are personal commandments that govern all of my behaviors.

However, before I talk about these principles it's important that you know that life mastery is a holistic concept, meaning that it embodies many different facets of the self. Financial success is only one piece of the pie, so to speak. A lot of people assume that if you make a lot of money, everything else falls into place. This isn't necessarily true.

There are a lot of millionaires and billionaires who are very unhappy. They lack balance because they neglect to acknowledge and nurture the different areas of their lives. A study found that once we reach a certain household income – $105,000 in the United States, $95,000 globally – more income “tends to be associated with reduced life satisfaction and a lower level of well-being.”

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the richest man in the graveyard. What is the point of having a lot of money but not having the mental or emotional well-being to go along with it? If the money that you make doesn't fulfill you or bring meaning to your life, you will only feel empty. This is why I believe that, if you want to create an extraordinary life, you must continuously focus on and master 10 core areas.

I call this, The Life Mastery Blueprint.

If you want to learn about this blueprint in more detail, I encourage you to go to the About section on my website. I define success as living at a level 7 or more in each area of my life. This ensures that I am always making progress and living a life that fulfills me. Keep in mind that there is no right and wrong with regards to where you fall on the scale for each area. This is your life. You decide what is important to you.

I want to show you a process and tool that you can use to measure each of these areas of life on an ongoing basis. This will help you have awareness of where you're at in each area so that you can bring more balance to your life. I encourage you to take out a journal right now. Draw a circle and a pie. For simplicity reasons, we are only going to focus on 8 different areas.

1. Health & Fitness 

There are a lot of people who look physically fit on the outside. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're healthy. Physical fitness is your capacity to have strength and endurance, but your health is your vitality. It's how every part of your bodily organs function.

On a scale from 0 to 10, where are you, health-wise in your life? Get honest with yourself. When you know where you are, you will know what you need to do in order to optimize your health.

2. Mind & Emotions

Your mind is a powerful tool. It can either be your friend or your worst enemy. When it comes to success, mindset is everything. A lot of people who struggle with disempowering thoughts assume that they cannot change. They fail to realize that they are not their thoughts.

Once you have this awareness you start to become an active observer of your mind are able to differentiate who you are from your critical inner voice. If you don't do the work to master your mindset, it will master every single decision that you make. Conversely, your emotions reflect how you feel on a consistent basis.

Is your emotional home-focused more on empowering and positive feelings, or do you suffer from feelings of anxiety and depression? On a scale from 1-10, with 10 being an optimal emotional state, where do your emotions fall?

3. Relationships

I define relationships as an intimate relationship with a man or a woman. What does your ideal relationship look like? Each person has different values. Thus, their perceptions of the characteristics and qualities that are deemed important in a partner will differ too.

You attract that which you are. From personal experience, once you have done the work to clear old conditioned patterns of thinking and behaving, you are better able to attract an ideal partner into your life. More importantly, you have a better understanding of what you want and don't want.

4.  Mission & Purpose

This is reflective of what you do for a living. A lot of people have careers that they're not passionate about. They go to their 9 to 5 jobs just to get a paycheck every month, but they aren't fulfilled. If you could get paid to do what you love, what would your ideal career be, if it was at a level 10?

Check in with yourself and get clear about where your current job fits on this scale. If you're struggling to answer this question, I encourage you to take note of what your work values are and then ask yourself if your job allows you to exercise those values. If not, it's time to rethink your mission and purpose.

5. Money

On a scale from 1-10, where are you financially? Maybe your level 10 is making $100,000 per year, whereas, for others, a level 10 may be achieving a millionaire or multi-millionaire status. Forget about what society or your family thinks, what are your financial goals?

What do YOU want for YOUR life? Before you can take control of your finances, you need to know where you're falling short so that you can start budgeting and managing the money that you already have. This is how you set yourself up to win financially.

6. Fun, Family & Friends

Life is meant to be enjoyed. If you take life too seriously, you're going to miss out on a lot of fun experiences. You want to make sure that you are investing time and energy into creating magic moments with people you love. Equally important is engaging in hobbies that bring you joy. By nature, we are social creatures.

Connecting with others is a great way to relieve stress and disconnect from doing mode. Make sure that you don't neglect this part of your life because you're investing too much energy into other areas. Keep in mind that there will be times in your life where you have to make sacrifices that will get in the way of your social time. What's most important is that you try to balance each area of life as much as possible.

7. Contribution

Contributing to others is a huge aspect of my life, as it aligns with my mission and purpose. I am very passionate about philanthropy. I've been traveling to third world countries for quite a few years now and have helped build schools and homes for families in need.

Some of the countries I've visited include Kenya, Ethiopia, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Contributing brings so much meaning to my life. As Tony Robbins says, “The secret to living is giving.” The more that you give, the more that you get back.

Sit back and ask yourself, “What do you want to contribute to the world?” What legacy will you leave?” You've been given the incredible gift of life. Don't just take from it. Rather, give back so that the next generation is better off. Get clear on your current level of contribution and reflect upon what level you aspire to.

8. Spirituality

Spirituality looks and feels different for everyone. I am a Christian but I've explored and studied a lot of different spiritual modalities. Spirituality goes beyond the physical. I believe that we are spiritual beings who are living a human experience. Our body is only temporary. This is why I have a strong spiritual connection with God.

That connection that I have to my Creator has added a richness and meaning to my life that trumps everything. What are your spiritual beliefs? Whatever those are, I encourage you to cultivate, practice and live them every single day, whether that's a daily prayer, a meditation practice, or yoga.

On a scale of 1-10, what is your level of spirituality? What would a level 10 look like for you, and how does that differ from where your current level of spirituality now?

The question now is… are you ready to master every area of your life?

Reflect upon the number that you gave for each area of your life. I encourage you to give focus on areas that are below level 7. Ask yourself, “What can I do to level up this area of life?” Don't expect that you will achieve life mastery overnight. That isn't realistic.

Take massive action and keep making strides every single day towards becoming the best version of yourself. When you commit your life to mastery, you become the creator of your destiny. Don't wait for one moment longer to become the person you've always wanted to be.

The time is now. Self-mastery is your birthright.

Are you ready to commit to mastering every area of your life? CLICK HERE to join my Life Mastery Accelerator program which will help you become the master of your world!

Challenges are an inevitable part of life.

Things will happen that feel unfair, out of your control, and sometimes devastating. Coronavirus is a perfect example.

During difficult times like these, it is more important than ever before to build your resilience muscle.

The people who thrive in life are those who view challenges as opportunities for growth.

Are you ready to overcome life struggles and challenges to become the hero of your life? If so, keep reading.

Watch the video below:

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Challenges empower you or destroy you.

It is your response to adversity, not the adversity itself that ends up determining how your life will unfold. What you resist, persists. When you experience pain or uncomfortable emotions, your natural response may be to run away. Why would you want to embrace something that causes you pain, right?

In my experience, when you don't embrace challenges, you only get more of them. In Buddhism, they believe that since our mind creates everything, no external cause is really creating any pain for us. Thus, it's only the illusion within our mind that creates the pain we feel.

When you experience struggles in life, you may think that it's the struggle itself that is the problem. However, oftentimes it's a symptom of a much deeper issue that you have yet to face. Instead of resisting your challenges, what would happen if you surrendered to them? Some of my most powerful transformational experiences in life have happened on the other side of surrender.

I believe that everything, both good and bad, happens for a higher purpose. The moment that you stop fighting the natural flow of things and let go of what you cannot control is the moment that life starts acting in your favor. The challenge that a lot of people face is that they want to control everything.

At its core, the need for control is rooted in a fear of what will happen if one loses control. The reality is that you can't control everything that happens to you. Sometimes the plan that you have for your life doesn't turn out how you wanted it to be. In the words of John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”

Life doesn't always like your plans.

Sometimes life gives you challenges that shake you to your core, to the point where you hit rock bottom – the death of a loved one, a failed marriage, losing your job, financial debt. In difficult times, you always have a choice. You can either rise and step into your power or be a victim of your circumstances.

When you allow challenges to define you, you give up your power. If you want to overcome challenges and life struggles, you must possess empowering core beliefs. Doing so will allow you to move through difficult times with grace and ease.

Hard times are a normal part of life. When you get hit with them, you can either fall down or rise up.

Everyone experiences highs and lows. However, some people cope better than others. In studies of people facing trauma, many describe their experience as a catalyst for profound change and transformation, leading to a phenomenon known as ‘post-traumatic growth.'

The most successful people in this world are those that have known defeat. They have been at rock bottom and have been able to make their way out of the depths of their own despair. These people were not born with this skill. Rather, they developed it over time. In doing so, they developed a greater appreciation for life.

Are you ready to learn how you can boost your resilience during hard times and come back stronger than ever before? As the old Japanese proverb states, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Watch the video below:

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Hard times are the key to a happy and healthy life.

This sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? Not according to science. Recent research indicates that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-being. For example, being open to emotional experiences and the ability to tolerate periods of discomfort can allow us to move towards a richer, more meaningful existence.

Sure, it's easy to feel like giving up when the world continues to throw you challenges. That being said, it's up to you how you are going to respond to life's setbacks. Struggling is a choice.

One of my favorite quotes about strength in hard times is by Joel Osteen, who said – “When you face difficult times, know that challenges aren't sent to destroy you. They're sent to increase and challenge you.”

If you are going through a difficult time in your life right now, I want you to know that you aren't alone. I've been there. We all have. I know what it feels like when your entire world turns upside down and you don't know where to turn.

I won't begin to claim that I understand your pain, because everyone has a different life story. That being said, I can share with you the knowledge that I have learned from my own experiences. I made it through the hard times in my life and so can you. You are still standing and there is a reason for that. Sometimes we all need a friendly reminder of how strong we really are.

Here are 5 ways that you can thrive through the hard times.

1. Accept That Hard Times Will Happen

Why is it so hard to accept that hard times are a part of life? Well, it's usually because our ego tells us that everything should be perfect. If life doesn't go our way, then we assume that there must be something wrong with us.

In her book, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow, Elizabeth Lesser says that “When we resist change and loss, we bring more pain onto ourselves. We become hardened, angry, resentful.” 

Accepting something doesn't mean that you have to like it. Rather, it simply means that you have made the choice to stop resisting it. Instead of forcing an outcome, you let go of control and embrace what is.

Randy Pausch is a shining example of this idea. Randy was a leading professor at Carnegie Mellon, a husband, and a father of 3. In 2007, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The doctors only gave him a few months to live. Instead of curling in a ball and giving up, he decided to accept his illness and live out his remaining time on earth in a positive and purposeful way.

In the words of Randy himself – “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” 

If you have yet to watch his Last Lecture, I encourage you to do so.

2. Be Proactive 

When hard times hit, it's the proactive people that are able to get through challenges with grace and ease. They don't allow struggles to define who they are because they refuse to be defeated. Nobody said that life would be a walk in the park. However, many of us are ill-prepared from an early age to get through hard times.

I know what rock bottom feels like. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was the beginning of me questioning everything that I ever thought was true.  I was faced, head on, with the disempowering belief systems that were keeping me locked away from living my life to the fullest.

Sometimes we need to hit our emotional threshold in order to light a fire under our butts and change our lives for the better. Every struggle in my life has shaped me into the person that I am today. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but you've got to find it. Don't you want to become the CEO of your life?

Nobody is going to fix your problems for you. Rather, you need to take action and create the change that you want to see. You can learn about all the strategies in the world for getting through hard times, but none of them will matter unless you actually apply them in your life.

3. Have Faith

Hard times can challenge our faith if we allow them to. Hard times are, in actuality, hard. That being said, how we choose to approach these moments in our lives ends up determining whether or not we merely survive or thrive through life. Having an unshakeable faith in our strength is the answer, and it starts with gratitude.

Numerous studies have proven that when you adopt an attitude of gratitude, you are a happier person. However, when people are trying to get through the hard times, they usually don't reflect upon how grateful they are. Why?

Because challenges don't feel good. I get it. However, if you only rely on your anger and frustration to get you through the bad times, you won't do yourself any good. This mindset will only get you stuck in a negative spiral that will feel impossible to get out of. When we feel sorry for ourselves, we become a victim of our circumstances. This is no way to live.

Have you ever had an experience in life where something didn’t work out, but as a result, something better came from it? When you believe that everything is a blessing in disguise, that's exactly what the Universe gives to you. By adopting this positive perspective on life, it motivates you to view every challenge as an opportunity to grow and become more. Have faith that in yourself and in a better tomorrow. That alone will make the invisible, visible.

Nicole Reed said it best – “Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.”

4. Focus on What You Can Control

If you think that you can control everything in your life, you are setting yourself up for failure. The harsh reality is that you have zero control over many of the things that happen in life. This is where people get into trouble. They think that if they can gain enough control over people or a situation, then they can prevent hard times from happening.

This is far from true.

When you are going through hard times, the natural response is to try and fix whatever it is that feels bad. However, the longer that you linger here, the more helpless that you will feel. We tend to forget that the only thing that we have control over is our inner world. It is your reaction to life that matters most. Two different people could experience the exact same challenge but have a drastically different response to it.

Attitude is everything. Hard times will happen throughout your life, but it is up to you how you will interpret them. You are always in control of your emotions, no matter how difficult the situation may be or feel. When you are able to change your reaction to people and events, don't be surprised if you see a massive shift take place in every area of your life.

5. Develop A Morning Ritual

Ever since I was 17 years old I've committed to a morning ritual. It is the most important part of my entire day because it is the time at which I prime myself for success. By conditioning my mindset, I am prepared to tackle whatever challenges may come my way. You may be wondering, “How is this possible?”

Well, when you take the time to engage in rituals like reciting positive affirmations or doing a meditation practice, you feel more positive and calm. When hard times hit, you are more equipped to handle them because you have done the work to master your emotional state.

Sure, some days I wouldn't mind sleeping in an extra hour, but I have committed to not getting caught up in these moments of pleasure because I know how good I feel when I stick with my routine. It helps to put me into an optimal state of mind. When I'm energized, focused and inspired, I feel unstoppable. It's as simple as that.

I'm not saying that I don't get frustrated when challenges occur. However, every time that I engage in my routine, I am making subtle mental and emotional shifts in how I think about life and hard times. As a result, when the shit hits the fan, I am prepared. Instead of freaking out, I make choices and decisions that serve my highest self.

I hope these words of encouragement for hard times have inspired you to keep moving forward.

We all face hard times. Ultimately, we all become stronger and wiser as a result. It comes down to adopting a positive mindset through every challenge that you face in life. Will it be easy? No. When we face difficulties, it's easy to get sucked into a negativity trap. However, this is the moment at which you need to believe in yourself and search for solutions that will allow you to weather the storm and come out the other side, happier and healthier.

In his final Rocky movie, Sylver Stallone says, “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. But it ain’t how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”

If you want to learn more about how you can become the master of your life, check out my Life Mastery Accelerator program.

Whatever you are going through, never forget that don't hard times don't last. This too shall pass and the skies will shine again. Until then, pull upon your inner strength and trust that you have everything inside of you in order to get through the hard times. You are stronger than you know. 

Are you ready to learn 21-powerful morning rituals that will take your life to the next level? CLICK HERE to receive instant access to my free cheat sheet!

Do you want to learn why my struggle is my strength? CLICK HERE to read the article that I wrote on Medium!

The reason why you’re struggling and failing in life may surprise you.

Over the last few days, I’ve been interacting with hundreds of people through messages, comments and live chats on my website. These are people from all walks of life that have the desire to change and improve their lives. However, despite their best efforts, they can’t.

There’s a part of me that wants to say to these people, “Do you even know how amazing you are?!” Unfortunately, this is where a lot of people get stuck. They don't believe in themselves.

Over the last 6 years, it’s been my mission in life to serve as a positive example of the unlimited possibilities that life has to offer. I don’t want you to struggle for one day longer. I only want you to prosper and be happy.

Are you ready to receive some direct, honest, B.S.-free feedback for why you’re struggling and failing in your life?

Watch the video below:

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Do you know why you’re struggling and failing in life?

If so, you aren't alone. A lot of people don't have the answer why, which makes it more confusing. It’s natural to feel frustrated or disappointed when things don’t go your way.

I assume that you are reading this blog because you want to change something in your life and that’s great! Change of any kind starts with a single step. I want to offer a new perspective on why you’re struggling and failing life.

Many of us have been fed a lot of bullshit. I am here to give you direct, B.S.-free feedback so that you can take your life to the next level. This is my chance to finally give you a big dose of truth! As always, my intention is to serve you.

I create my content with the purpose of helping you save time, stress, and money so that you can get to where you want to go a lot faster. I’m a big believer that if you want to see different results in your life, then you need to become hyper-aware of how your thoughts and beliefs are impacting your actions.

According to research, our brains can produce up to 50,000 thoughts a day, and 99% percent of these thoughts are repeated daily. Your thoughts become your beliefs, which is why it’s so important you are conscious of how you speak to yourself.

Unfortunately, a lot of people fall victim to limiting beliefs. They say things like, “I can’t because I don’t have time” or “I can’t because I don't have money.” These self-limiting beliefs are just perceptions. As long as they remain unchallenged, they will continue to shape the decisions that you make.

You can have all the desire in the world to change your life, but if you don’t have the unwavering belief that you will achieve the outcome that you desire, you are fighting a losing battle.

We all have emotional blind spots. Most of them are based on assumptions and false perceptions that we make about ourselves and the world. These are things that we refuse to acknowledge about ourselves because we may not like what we see. Instead of identifying and questioning why it is that they feel a certain way, people just accept things as true.

The result? Self-sabotaging patterns of behavior. As Warren Buffett says, “What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.” This is one of the many reasons why a coach or a mentor is so important.

They can help you understand what your emotional blind spots are so that you feel empowered to overcome your obstacles.

I want to share 4 possible reasons for why you’re failing and struggling in your life.

1. Close-Mindedness

If you are skeptical and don’t believe that something is possible for you, you won’t be able to change your life. I share a lot of advice and opportunities online, but I find that a lot of people never take action.

They hold back and tell themselves stories like, “Maybe this won’t work for them”, or “Maybe it’s a scam.” Even worse, they question themselves or other people. At the end of the day, it’s a mechanism that people use to protect themselves.

Oftentimes, it’s based on fear. When you’ve been disappointed in the past and experienced pain or rejection, it’s easy to put up emotional barriers and become closed off to new opportunities in life.

Soon, you get to a point of learned helplessness where you believe that nothing will ever work for you. Research on what is known as learned helplessness has shown that when people feel like they have no control over what happens, they tend to simply give up and accept their fate.

You could have the perfect opportunity in front of you, but you don’t even see it because you have become so close-minded. It’s better to have gone for something 100% than to play it safe and stay in your comfort zone. Don't look back on your life with regret.

Nobody wants to live with “what ifs.”

Embracing change is essential to growing as an individual and becoming the best version of yourself. If you’re struggling and failing in your life, you need to listen to the people that are more successful than you. Why? Because what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked.

Eben Pagan recently wrote a book called, “Opportunity.” This is a man that has made a big difference in my life. I was so excited to speak with him because he’s one of my biggest mentors. He had a book launch and gave away his book, for free, to my audience. All they had to do was pay for the shipping costs.

One person made a comment and said, “The reason why he’s giving away his book, for free, is so that he can get my email address and sell me his other products.” Some people are skeptical because they think that someone is just trying to make money from them. This is an example of close-mindedness.

People like myself and Eben have online businesses. Just like anyone else, we need to support ourselves, which means selling our products and services so that can continue our mission in life. Do I want you to become a customer? Of course! I strive to provide as much content and value for free as I possibly can.

However, there comes a point when I need to sell something. If you don’t buy anything from me, that’s okay. You can still get tremendous value from everything that I provide online. If you adopt a skeptical mindset, you will stay stuck in one place. I encourage you to always be open to new opportunities.

When you can drop your ego, open your mind, and humble yourself, you start the process of changing your life. I can’t help anyone unless they are willing to help themselves.

2. Not Asking For Help

Oftentimes, not asking for help stems from people thinking that they either have all of the answers, they are too embarrassed to reach out, or they want to fix all of their problems on their own.

When you are so caught up in that story, you don't move forward. It comes back to approaching life as a student. The worst 3 words in the human vocabulary are, “I know that.” You have to be open to learning and growing as much as you can.

I know that I don’t have all the answers. I understand that if I’m stuck, I need to ask for help from someone that has been where I want to go.

A series of studies reveals that people tend to grossly underestimate how likely others are to agree to requests for assistance. Frank Flynn, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Business School says that “People are more willing to help than you think, and that can be important to know when you’re trying to get the resources you need to get a job done.”

I always say to myself, “Who are the people that have already achieved what it is that I want?” I don’t want to go through years of unnecessary pain, frustration, and adversity. That's a waste of my time, energy, and money.

You don’t have to go down this road but, for some reason, people still choose this path.

This is why experts create amazing courses so that you can learn from their failures and mistakes. That knowledge is there for a reason – it’s there to guide you on the most efficient path to success and help you fast-track the process. That’s called working smart, not hard.

Would you rather go through 10 years of blood, sweat, and tears, like I did, or pay a couple thousand dollars to accelerate your learning process? It’s a no-brainer. When you pay for something, you will value it so much more.

Let me give you a real-life example. When I was 18 years old, the first seminar that I ever went to was facilitated by a man named Dan Perrion. I wanted to change my dating life. It was a $500 seminar. I had the desire to invest in myself because I wanted to change my life.

I applied his knowledge to my life and I received massive results from that learning experience. Because I paid for it, I received so much more value than I ever would have if I had just watched some videos on YouTube. The more you pay, the more that you pay attention.

The old adage, “Ask and you shall receive” works wonders. I encourage you to try it. Reach out for help or pay for it. Whatever it takes in order to change your life.

3. Invest In Yourself

I’m a big believer in the power of investing in yourself. People say that they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve success, but then they quit when things get tough. These people are called dabblers. They only want something if it’s convenient and if it falls into their lap.

If you want to grow and evolve, you need to be willing to invest money into your learning and development. When people tell me that they don’t have time, money, or the skillset to do something, I know that all of those things are just excuses. They are limiting beliefs that your mind tells you that prevent you from taking action.

Nothing of value comes easy in life.

Ask yourself this question – “How committed are you to achieving the goal that you desire?” If you have a million reasons why you can’t do something, then you aren’t ready. The reality is that, if you want something bad enough, you will do whatever it takes to get it.

You will sacrifice time and money because it will be a “must” for you, as Tony Robbins says. This is the mindset of a master. When they can’t find a way, they make a way. How do you expect to be successful if you aren’t even resourceful enough to come up with the time or money to be able to invest in something? The two don’t go together.

Instead of saying, “I can’t afford this”, ask yourself, “What can I do in order to afford it?” Don’t allow your limiting beliefs to control your life. A lot of people get stuck in their stories. Fear ends up overpowering their desire. Your desire has to be greater than any limitation.

I am where I am today because I invested in myself. It wasn’t a walk in the park. I had so many moments when I cried and felt like giving up.

I’ve been at rock bottom. I know what that feels like.

I'm reminded of a story from Seinfeld, in particular, the episode of Andrea Doria. They are giving an apartment to an old guy who is a survivor of a shipwreck accident. All of sudden George Costanza says, “Well, they haven’t heard my story.” He sits down with the board of the strata and he shares all of the struggles that he went through. By the end of it, everyone is crying and they say to him, “You can have the apartment because you went through something WAY worse than what this other guy went through.”

All of the challenges that I went through ended up being blessings. Who I am today and what I have is the result of what I’ve been able to come back from. I’m so grateful for the difficult times because they challenged me. I went 3 years without making any money online. Did I give up? Hell no.

My belief and my desire were so much greater than my fears. I kept my purpose alive. I knew that I would never settle for anything less than I could be, do, have, create, or give. I found the way, and I’m damn proud. In the words of Les Brown, “Our ability to handle life's challenges is a measure of our strength of character.”

I was willing to try anything if it meant that it would get me one step closer to achieving my goals in life. I always had a sense of positive expectancy. I believed that at any given moment, I could experience a breakthrough moment, whether it was the next book that I read or the course that I took. I was always open to learning more.

When people said that something could change my life, I took action. I didn’t doubt them or hold back.

Change can be scary, but I encourage you to be more afraid of what your life will be like if you DON'T change. Let your fears propel you forward, instead of holding you back. Your life isn’t going to change just by watching a video or listening to a podcast. Today has to be different than yesterday. That’s how things change.

Switch it up! If it means investing in a course that is going to take your life to the next level, take a leap of faith and do it. You’ve got nothing to lose.

4. Not Taking Action

You can invest in yourself and know a lot about something, but if you don’t do anything with the knowledge, it’s useless. A lot of people get stuck in analysis paralysis.

Psychologist Barry Schwartz coined the phrase “Paradox of Choice” to describe his consistent findings that, “While increased choice allows us to achieve objectively better results, it also leads to greater anxiety, indecision, paralysis, and dissatisfaction.”

From my experience, it’s not that the strategies don’t work. Rather, it’s the individual that doesn’t work. The difference between people who succeed or fail is a mindset. Nothing works unless you work. You have to apply what you learn.

This may require that you review the same knowledge again and again in order to really understand it. As Zig Ziglar says, “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”

This is the secret to developing habits of success.

There are 3 levels of mastery that you need to pay attention to — knowing, doing, and living. Knowing is not enough, because you can know what to do, but not do what you know The real value is doing it and making sure that you are living it every day. When you do so, it becomes a part of who you are.

I’ve been to the Tony Robbins’ seminar, Unleash the Power Within, 7 times now. There are certain things that he shared that I didn’t take action with the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd time. However, the 4th time I finally committed to doing it. It took me paying all of that money in order to finally get it.

The doing part is what changed my life forever. Those experiences were worth every penny because the outcome was so sweet.

A lot of people don’t understand how much action you need to take in order to succeed at something. Any goal requires patience, sacrifice, hard work, commitment, and discipline. If it was easy, everybody would be successful. I welcome challenges because they allow me to become more. If it wasn’t for the adversity that I have faced, I wouldn’t have learned what I have learned, and I wouldn’t have developed my emotions and mindset the way that it is now.

If you’re struggling and failing in your life, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t good enough.

It means that you are going through a lot of growth. Shift your mindset around it. It may not feel good, but trust that it is taking you somewhere. Look for the lessons, and don’t stop until you embrace the blessings.

Today is an opportunity for you to change your life and go to a whole new level IF you allow it to. The alternative is to stay stuck, and that’s not a fun place to be. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom in order to decide that it’s time to get off the bench and into the game of life. It will require you to do the opposite of anything that you’ve ever done before.

What if you decided to change your life and it worked? How would that feel?

When you focus on the unlimited potential that resides inside of you, that’s when life becomes a lot more exciting. I don’t want you to struggle for one more day. I hope my words have spoken to your heart, mind, and spirit. Hopefully, this moment of truth has penetrated through any barrier or limitation that has held you back in the past.

Today is a new day and a new opportunity to write a new chapter in your life.

Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Absolutely!

Do you want to learn how to build a profitable business selling on Amazon? CLICK HERE for instant access to my free video training!

Are you ready to learn 3 reasons why failure is a good thing? CLICK HERE to read the article I wrote on Medium!

I want to share with you 5 brutal truths about life no one wants to admit. It’s a lot easier to be ignorant to the realities of life.

However, the more time that we spend pretending that truths aren’t a part of our reality, the more time that we waste not living in alignment with our true selves.

Is ignorance bliss? Absolutely not. The fact of the matter is that if we want to grow and expand, we need to be honest with ourselves. We need to be willing to open our minds, and see the world through a different lens.

These 5 brutal truths about life that no one wants to admit will remind you of what is important and will empower you to take control of your life.

In the words of Maya Angelou, “When you know better, you do better.”

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

[smart_track_player url=”http://www.buzzsprout.com/9299/581537-plm-486-5-brutal-truths-about-life-no-one-wants-to-admit.mp3″ background=”default” ]

Do you want to learn how to create an empowering morning ritual? CLICK HERE to join my course, Morning Ritual Mastery!

Here are 5 truths about life no one wants to admit:

1. You can’t make everyone happy

This is a battle that you will never win. No matter how hard that you try, there are people out there that you just can’t make happy. The sooner that you can accept this, the freer that you will be.

You need to accept the fact that most people just don't desire to be happy because they are attached to their current state of living. They don't want to give up their stories, excuses, and limitations of why they CAN be happy. According to research, thinking pessimistically is a staple in the depressed person’s cognitive structure.

Not only can you not make everyone happy, but not everyone is going to like you. There is always going to be someone that will criticize and judge you, based on how you look, how you sound, and how you live your life.

The most successful people throughout history have critics. I’m not for everyone, and that’s OK. The sooner that you accept this fact, the sooner you will not be affected by negative people. All that really matters in life is what you think about YOU. 

2. You will never be perfect

No matter how hard you try, you will never be perfect. So many of us hold ourselves to such a high standard, that it ends up creating a lot of suffering.

You need to recognize that it’s OK to make mistakes in life. Everyone has bad days. The earlier that you can embrace that you aren’t perfect, the happier that you will be.

A lot of people are held back in their lives because they become paralyzed by the fear that they will fail at the very things that they want to accomplish. As a result, they never take action.

If you consider yourself to be a perfectionist, it is critical that you break the loop and shift your mindset. It can take away from your most important asset, which is time, leaving you feeling mentally exhausted. 

Instead of focusing on perfectionism, go for ‘good enough.’ Do the best that you can with the tools that you have. If you wait for conditions to be perfect before you start anything, you will never start.

3. Nothing in the external world makes you happy

Material possessions will never make you happy in life. All that they will do is provide you with short-term pleasure and gratification. Researchers have a term for it – it’s called, “retail therapy.”

Happiness is an inside job; it is something that we create each moment of our lives. You could be happy right now, simply by focusing on what you are grateful for. 

This is why I believe in the power of morning rituals. Spend time every morning focusing on the things that nourish your mind, body, and soul.

4. One day, you will die

A lot of people are afraid of the idea of death, but what if it wasn’t as scary as you think? It all comes down to your beliefs.

Rather than fear it, I think that death is empowering. I don’t fear it because my belief is that our spirit carries on after we leave our physical body.

We are on this planet for a limited amount of time. It's a sobering fact, but it’s true. We live our lives pretending that the end is never going to come. When you embrace the concept of death, it empowers you to cherish life even more.

This is best reflected in one of my favorite quotes by Michael Landon Jr. that reads, “Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.”

Research has indicated that the East Asian yin and yang philosophy of death – where life can’t exist without death – allows individuals to use death as a reminder to enjoy life.

The reality is that we will all meet the same fate as one another, so while we are on this earth we need to seize every moment and live it to the fullest. In the words of Giovanni Falcone, “He who doesn’t fear death only dies once.”

5. Time is the most valuable asset

Time is the most valuable asset that you have. Second by second, you are given the opportunity to become the person that you desire to be. How do you use your time?

Spend your time doing things that bring meaning to your life and that make you come alive inside. The moment that I realized how important this was, I stopped wasting time on things that didn’t matter. Every day I focus on making sure that everything that I do has a purpose behind it.

The reality is that time is depreciating. We can't get more of it, which is why we need to spend it wisely. Don't spend ANY time doing anything that isn't bringing you closer towards the person that you desire to be.

I hope these 5 brutal truths about life no one wants to admit have opened your eyes and offered a different perspective. Don’t let these truths hold you back. Rather, let them empower you to take action and create your reality, on your terms.

Do you want to learn how to create an empowering morning ritual? CLICK HERE to join my course, Morning Ritual Mastery!

I would like to share with you 3 ways to find your flow in life. Can you remember a moment in your life when you experienced effortless focus while doing something that you loved, that time seemed to fade away?  

Positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes this as flow, a mental state of complete absorption in one's current experience. In this state, you feel productive, happy, and 100% focused on the task at hand.

Oftentimes this experience is short-lived, but imagine how good it would feel if you could harness this feeling whenever your heart desired.

In the words of Csikszentmihalyi himself, “The flow experience has the potential to make life more rich, intense, and meaningful; it is good because it increases the strengths and complexity of the self.” 

The question is, “How do you achieve this flow state?” It's a lot easier than you think. Are you ready to learn 3 ways to find your flow in life?

Do you want to learn how you can master every area of your life? CLICK HERE to join my Life Mastery Accelerator program!

Activities that lead to a flow experience are called autotelic (from Greek: auto=self, telos=goal), because they are intrinsically motivated and gratifying. They also have an end in themselves, rather than in some other end product.

Finding your flow is about losing yourself in tasks that you are passionate about. It allows you to experience enjoyment in the progress of doing something challenging, yet rewarding.

Let's explore 3 ways to find your flow in life:

1. Calm Your Mental Chatter

Mental chatter is the inner noise that plays out in our brains every day. Before you attempt to go into a flow state, ask yourself what is going on in your mind that will prevent you from fully immersing yourself in a task.

A great way to do this is through meditation. Consciously bring attention to your thoughts, without engaging with them. Doing so will allow you to become more aware of the conditions that allow you to enter into a calm state of mind so that the experience of flow occurs naturally.

2. Find Your Zone Of Focus

We all know how discouraging it can feel to sit down, with the intention of immersing ourselves in one task, only to jump onto the next thing.

Research shows that multitasking actually drains the energy reserves of your brain. If you want to find your flow, you need train your mind to become fully immersed in one task.

Turn off all distractions until you've done nothing but the thing you set out to accomplish, for at least 20 minutes. Once you hit that point, you will tap into your flow state.

3. Do Work That You Love

If you aren't passionate about the work that you do, you will have a difficult time losing yourself in it. The best way to find your flow is to find what it is that makes you come alive inside. Invest time and effort into it, and don't settle for less.

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, said it best: “If you’re into kite-surfing and you want to become an entrepreneur, do it with kite-surfing.”

A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that flow is highly correlated with happiness, both subjective and psychological well-being. When you utilize your talents at work and accomplish challenging goals that are meaningful to you, the outcome is full alignment with your passion and purpose in life.

These are 3 ways to find your flow in life. Knowledge about flow is great, but it's not enough. It will do nothing for you unless you take action and find ways to implement more flow into your life.

Make the effort to find that state of effortless concentration and enjoyment that makes life worth living.

Do you want to learn how you can master every area of your life? CLICK HERE to join my Life Mastery Accelerator program!

Do THIS every 90 days, then watch your life and business change. I would like to share a powerful self-improvement ritual that will ensure that your business consistently grows every year.

I am a big believer that, at the beginning of every year, you need to set goals for yourself and check in to ensure that you are making progress.

The ritual that I am going to share with you involves more than just setting goals. It’s about taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture of your business and your life.

If you want to achieve success, you need to assess the direction of your business and your life, in order to ensure that you are gaining ‘altitude’, as Eben Pagan says.

Are you ready to learn about a game-changing ritual for your business and your life? Do THIS every 90 days, then watch your life and business change.

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

[smart_track_player url=”http://www.buzzsprout.com/9299/566899-plm-472-do-this-every-90-days-then-watch-your-life-and-business-change.mp3″ background=”default” ]

Do you want to learn the 7 online business models that have made me an Internet millionaire? CLICK HERE for instant access to my free course!

Every 90 days I schedule a meeting with my team, and I create a specific format for it. If it’s only you in the meeting, schedule it in the same way.

Here is the meeting format that I recommend you follow. Do THIS every 90 days, then watch your life and business change:

1. Review The Vision For Your Business

A clear vision gives a business and a team a sense of direction and inspiration. In my business, I make an effort to ensure that everyone on my team is in alignment with my vision, and that we discuss what that vision is on a regular basis.

Not only that, but if the vision changes in any way, we talk about the ways in which we will need to adapt our business processes in order to ensure that we are constantly growing and expanding.

Keep in mind that it’s important that you continually check in with people to ensure that they are still on board with your vision.

2. Review The Values For Your Business And Your Life

Values are critically important for your business. Not only that, but you want to make sure that there is alignment between the values that you adhere to in your life and the ones that you promote in your business.

What does your business stand for? If you have a team, you need to communicate to them which values are most important to you.

3. Give And Receive Feedback

Feedback is a great way to develop a sense of awareness about where we can improve, so that we are consistently making progress. A lot of people forget this step in their business because they don’t create a ritual to assess themselves and their team.

There are three people on my leadership team, including myself. These are people that I trust and whose opinions I value. Like any relationship, disagreements can come up within a team, and if they aren’t expressed openly it can cause resentment amongst team members.

Each person in the team shares what he or she feels they believe that they are good at, and what they can improve. I then reflect upon what I believe that I need to improve upon, and then I allow the other members of my team to do the same.

My job is to shut up, listen, and take notes. I want my team to be honest with me. The goal is to help each other grow and improve. This is a great trust-building team exercise.

4. Analyze Your Business

As a group, my team and I then brainstorm the areas where we feel that our business has done well. We celebrate and acknowledge our accomplishments over the last 90 days, and the areas where we think we can make improvements.

We also talk about any ideas or suggestions that the team or myself may have for moving forward into the next quarter.

5. Set Goals & Actions for Next 90 Days

Things change throughout the year, so you need to be flexible. In my team, we reassess the goals that we had during the previous quarter, and then for the next quarter we decide what we want to focus on.

I always try to make sure that my team and I have goals in multiple parts of our business, and that each individual has a goal that they are moving towards.

When everyone has a goal, it allows him or her to brainstorm creative ways that they can achieve it. I also make sure that there is always a reward for achieving a goal and make sure that the goal is S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely).

6. Inspire Personal Growth and Development

Every quarter I want to make sure that my team is learning and growing, whether that’s in the form of reading books, attending seminars, taking part in courses, etc.

These are things that I support my team with because I want to invest in them, like I invest in myself. By giving the people on my team the opportunity to develop new skills, that in turn supports the growth of my business as well.

My team then shares their ideas with the group, and then for the next quarter we determine how we are going to commit to learning. We make sure that everyone on my team has goals that they are moving towards.

I highly recommend this ritual. If you want to succeed in business, you need to work on it, not in it. Take it seriously and commit to mastery.

You need to be constantly checking-in, assessing, evaluating where you are at, and where you want to go. This is what the most successful companies in the world do.

Act as if you are bigger than you are. Do THIS every 90 days, then watch your life and business change.

Are you ready to take your life and your business to the next level? In the words of Frank Ocean, “Work hard in silence. Let your success be the noise.”

Do you want to learn the 7 online business models that have made me an Internet millionaire? CLICK HERE for instant access to my free course!

I would like to share 3 benefits of minimalism that extend to all areas of life. Through life's ups and downs, it is important that we remember to take the time to enjoy the simple things in life. We need to be grateful for what we have, and focus on finding meaning in our lives.

Life is meant to be enjoyed, not filled with stress and frustration. Minimalism is a state of being, a simple approach to life, that can help us do more with less.  In the words of Vernon Howard, “You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.”

That is why I wanted to invite Will Chou, the founder of Will You Laugh, a self-development blog that focuses on the secrets to success, to write a guest post to talk about 3 benefits of minimalism that extend to all areas of life.

Take it away, Will!

When I first discovered minimalism, I was a mess of a person and I thought it was stupid. But everything has changed now.  To explain my change of opinion, we have to go back to the beginning. When I first discovered minimalism, I really wanted to travel the world for a living.

At the time, I was disillusioned with my career paths and confused about my future. I was struggling to find work I could enjoy and the job opportunities that I was offered, sucked. To put it simply, like many Millennials, I had chosen a tough college major that I loved (pre-med Biology) but realized too late that it wasn’t my passion (after graduation).

My days of despair led me to seek escapism on the Internet. I discovered a large group of online bloggers that had a huge following and who called themselves, “travel hackers.”

Essentially, they would travel to exotic places for a living and make their living by “hacking life.” They were able to achieve a level of financial freedom that most people would envy. At first, I wasn't sold on this whole idea of minimalism, but that soon changed. Today, I want to share with you the three benefits of minimalism that extend to all areas of life:

1. You Will Stay Organized and Clean

I had always been a messy person. Despite my best efforts to stay clean, my room would quickly morph into a mess of junk. To put it simply, the more items you have, the more opportunity it is for it to make you feel and appear messy.

When you only have a couple of items on your desk, it’s never going to look that messy no matter how long you delay cleaning it up. It’s shocking how few people understand or use this habit. Nowadays, I have applied this minimalist philosophy to every area of my life.

2. You Will Achieve More By Working Less

A lot of people make the mistake of approaching their daily to-do list with a reactive state of mind. They take on too many tasks on a daily basis, many of which are unimportant. When they look back at what they have accomplished, they are surprised by their lack of progress.

A solution is a form of minimalism called essentialism. The concept is simple. Focus on one to three tasks per day. Make sure they are the most important tasks that will make the biggest impact on the accomplishment of your goals. If you do this right, you will realize that you’re doing less work but getting more results by prioritizing and cutting out the unnecessary.

3. You Feel Happier and Less Stressed

Not so long ago, I was frustrated with my progress, both professionally and personally. I didn’t have quality friends, I wasn't earning much, and I was lost and without direction in my dating life.

It was confusing because I had always worked super hard in school and “done the right things.” After doing a lot of research on success, happy people, and the science of happiness, I came up with a simple mantra that has helped me a lot. It goes something like, “As long as I have air, water, food, a healthy mind, and a healthy body, I am happy.”

This mantra reminds me to lead a simple, happy life. By living this philosophy, I have become a much happier, more relaxed, and lighter person.

I Am Not A Minimalist And I Don’t Want You To Be. 

Wait, what? After all, I have said, I’m now revealing that I’m not a minimalist, I don’t intend to be one. Why? I can't say that I would be happy with living a lifestyle of extreme minimalism, and that’s OK. What I love about some minimalist influencers out there is that they’re not telling you to become a minimalist.

Rather, they are encouraging that you adopt the minimalist practices that work for you. That’s where I stand. I will be rich one day and I will buy expensive experiences, but the items and services I do buy will be fewer than the average person, and they will be focused on memorable experiences, rather than a desire to hold onto possession.

It’s important not to swing from one extreme perspective (“Everything you buy has value so you should hoard it.”) to the other (“Nothing has value so get rid of it all.”). The truth lies closer to the middle.

Will has spent thousands of hours studying the world's most successful people and shares his findings on his self-development blog, Will You Laugh. Get his free gift made especially for Project Life Mastery readers by CLICKING HERE!